Sewing apparatus



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Aug. 13, 1968 Filed May 2T.

ATTORNEYS ug- 13, 1968 R. l.. DAvlDsoN ET AL 3,396,686

SEWING APPARATUS Filed May 2T, 1966 I 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

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INVENTORS CARROLL C. PARKER BYRALPH L. DAVIDSON ATTORN EYS A118- 13, 1968 R. L. DAV|DSON ET AL 3,396,686

SEWING APPARATUS Filed May 27, 196s 4 Sheets-Sheet' s FIG. 3

FIG. 4

SEWING 52 l2 RETURN INVENTORS CARROLL C. PARKER BY RALPH 'L DAVIDSON Aug- 13, 1968 R. L. DAVIDSON ET AL 3,396,686

S EWING APPARATUS Pin Tail End Prepare Sewing Machine Release from Pins Run Cloth imo Scroy Pin Lead End Place Loom Roll on Cradle End l l l I I l lll lll! O 2 4 6 810 i214 |6I8202224262830 TIME |N sEcONOs FIG. 5

5; loo- D [I S LL O eo- (D C Z 1 (D 80- I z 70- Q O D S eo- L.. Le 5, 50 1 i l o 5o loo |50 20o 25o 30o LOOM ROLL LENGTH (YARDS) INVENTORS CARROLL c. PARKER FIG. 6 BYRALPH L. DAVIDSON ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,396,686 SEWING APPARATUS Ralph L. Davidson, Southborough, and lCarroll C. Parker, Northboro, Mass., assignors to Curtis & Marble Machine C0., Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed May 27, 1966, Ser. No. 553,348 Claims. (Cl. 112-2) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention is a sewing machine for sewing the leading end of a supply roll of cloth to the trailing end of a loom roll feeding a scray. The machine is a sewing head at the end of a carriage dependent from an overhead trolley in such manner as to provide storage space for the rolls below the sewing head and clear, unobstructed passageway between the sewing head, the rolls, and the scray in order to permit rapid joinder of said ends. Means are provided to motivate the sewing head and the carriage for traversal of the latter.

This invention relates to stitching machines for the textile industry, and particularly to an improved sewing apparatus for sewing the trailing end of a roll of cloth to the leading end of another roll.

In the textile industry, it is customary to obtain long lengths of cloth by sewing the trailing end of one roll of the material to the leading end of another roll. With the machines presently available, sewing is done by a sewing machine which is generally positioned on a scray and is arranged to traverse the front end or face of the latter, the whole apparatus -being arranged so that a roll of cloth whose trailing end is to be attached to the leading end of succeeding roll, is placed in the scray and traverses the scray in conventional manner to another operation, (for example, bleaching, dyeing or printing). Meanwhile, the succeeding roll is placed in the scray with its leading end exposed. Pins are provided at each side of the sewing apparatus to which can be pinned the corners of the trailing end of the first roll when it becomes available after the rest of the roll has entered the scray. The leading end of the second -roll is then pinned by its corners on top of the trailing end, and Ithe overlapped ends are then sewed together by causing the sewing machine to traverse the width of the cloth.

In the conventional machine, the sewing head proper is mounted so that its overhanging needle arm faces toward the operator, that is, away from the scray machine itself. The result of this is that in the pinning operation, the trailing end of the first roll must be pinned iirst, and then the leading end of the second roll is pinned on top of it. Furthermore, in the machines presently known, both ends must be carefully guided by means of rollers underneath the track mounting the sewing head in order to be positioned properly for sewing. The result of this is that there is considerable time wasted in the pinning operation because the trailing end of the iirst roll must be pinned first, and thereafter the leading end of the succeeding roll. That is, one must wait until the trailing end becomes available before the leading end can be pinned on top thereof. Also, because of the necessity for guiding both ends around rollers for proper positioning, additional time is used. Further disadvantages are that the sewed ends cannot be pulled from the pins automatically as the material iiows through the scray, but must be removed by hand, and there is considerable drag on the material because of the necessity for passing it around rollers. For soft or imsy coth, this additional pulling may tear the cloth or at least stretch it out of shape.

3,396,686 Patented Aug. 13, 1968 ice In this invention, the above disadvantages are eliminated. Due to the construction and arrangement of parts, the leading end of the second roll may be pinned on the sewing machine while t-he material of the lirst roll is passing through the scray. Thereafter, when the trailing end of the iirst roll becomes available, it is readily pinned on top of the leading end. Furthermore, there is no necessity, in the present invention, for threading either end around rollers, thus saving additional time. In addition, because of the arrangement of the parts, the sewn material can be pulled directly from the pins -by the draft roll, and any pulling on the material is in a straight line direction, with the result that there is less tendency for the material to be torn or pulled out of shape.

Therefore, among the several objects and advantages of this invention may be noted the provision of an improved sewing machine for the aforesaid purposes; the provision of a combined sewing machine and scray in which means are provided for reducing the time of attaching a trailing end of one roll to the leading end of another roll; the provision of apparatus of the above classes in which the sewn material may be pulled directly from the pins of the machine; the provision of apparatus of the above classes in which the pull on the respective cloths is in a straight line with resultant less drag on the materials and less tendency for the materials to be pulled out of shape or torn; the provision of a machine of the above classes in which means are provided for obtaining a fast return of the sewing -head to its original position; and the provision of machines of any of the above classes which are relatively simply made, easy to maintain, and simple to operate. Other objects and advantages will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the elements and combinations of elements, features of construction, arrangements of parts, and manipulation of the apparatus, all of which will be exemplified in the structures hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawings, in which is shown an embodiment of the invention:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation thereof, in section, taken in the direction of sight lines 2 2 on FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a gear assembly used in the apparatus to operate the sewing head and to move the latter across the scray;

FIG. 4 is a schematic Wiring diagram for the apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a chart illustrating the times involved in a sewing operation; and

FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating a comparison yof production rates of the present invention and those of prior machines.

In the accompanying drawings, in which one of the various possible embodiments of the invention is illustrated: similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings; dimension of certain of the parts as shown in the drawings may have been modified and/ or exaggerated for the purposes of clarity of illustration.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the sewing machine is shown in combination with a scray, and the combination comprises a scray, a portion thereof being shown by numeral 2, and the sewing apparatus indicated generally by numeral 4. Scray 2 is conventional, and no further description will be given herein, since the invention basically lies in the improved sewing mechanism indicated by numeral 4.

Sewing mechanism 4 provides means for defining an area in which is to be done, and in this embodiment comprises a supporting framework consisting of an overhead bridge indicated generally by numeral y6 which is supported on side frame members 7, a pairV of adjustable pin boards 8 and 9, a traversable carriage 10 dependent from and riding on bridge 6, a traverse drive motor 12, and associated control switches 36 and 38, and 126.

Bridge 6 comprises a pair vof girders 14 which are supported by a pair of overhanging girders 1'6 in conventional manner. Each of the girders 14 is provided with opposed tracks 18 which extend the lengths of girders 14 and which support the wheels 20 mounted rotatably on trolley plates 21 which are fastened to the upper end of the carriage in conventional manner. The traverse drive motor 12 is mounted by conventional means, as shown, at one end of the bridge 6, the motor being mounted in this instance on a dependent bracket struc ture 22 which is fastened to one end of the bridge. A motor 12 is preferably a variable-speed, gear-reduction motor.

A control switch 126, to be described later, is mounted on the framework conventionally as shown, for example, on bracket 33.

Also mounted at each end of the framework are the adjustable pin boards 8 and 9, these pin boards being of conventional kind, and each being attached to a respective rigid bar 26 provided with the slots 28 through which extend the threaded bolts 30. Hand wheels 32 are threaded on the free ends of the bolts 30. The other end of the bolts are conventionally fastened to brackets 33 which are attached to the supporting framework, so that by loosening or tightening the hand wheels against the bars, the later are made adjustable toward or away from each other.

Attached to the bars 26 at each end are downwardly bent supporting brackets 34, one of these mounting the switch 36, and the other mounting switch 38. It will thus be observed that when the pin boards 6 and 8 are adjusted for various widths of cloth, this same adjustment also moves the switches 36 and 38 so that the distances from the pins (and thus the cloth edges) to the respective switches remain the same regardless of the position of the pins at the ends of the pin boards.

Referring now to FIGS. l3, the carriage 10 comprises a housing 42 preferably made of sheet steel and having a generally box-shaped upper portion 44, and a dependent box-shaped lower portion 45. (Box-shaped structures are shown and used for the purpose of eliminating weight while maintaining rigidity, but it is obvious that other forms of structure may be used, if desired.) At the lower end of the box-frame 45 there is mounted by conventional means the sewing head proper 46, and it will be noted that the overhanging needle arm 47 and the bed 50 of the sewing head, and thus the open end of its throat, face toward the scray face.

The drive shaft 48 for the sewing head is conventional, and no further description herein of it and the interior construction of the sewing head itself is herein given, except to note that the drive shaft 48 extends outwardly through the lower end of the boX frame 44.

The sewing head 46 is so positioned that the top of the sewing bed 50 thereof lies in a plane approximately the same as the plane of the pin-boards 8 and 10. Thus, the sewing head will be positioned properly for sewing cloth stretched between the pins.

Contained within the upper portion 44 of housing 42 is a drive motor 52 which is mounted in the housing so that its shaft 54 extends out from the front face of the housing 42 as shown. Above motor 52 a shaft 58 is journaled in suitable bearings supported by the housing 42 (not shown, since they are conventional), one end of the shaft projecting outwardly from the housing 42.

Fastened on shaft 58 is the Worm gear `62 which engages a pinion 64 which in turn is fastened on a shaft 66. Shaft 66 is journaled in bearings suitably provided and supported by the housing, and is at right angles to shaft 58. At one end of shaft 66 there is fastened a lmitre gear 68 which in turn engages a mitre gear 70, the latter being fastened on a shaft 72 which in turn is journaled in suitable bea-rings supported by housing 42. The end of shaft 72 projects outwardly from the front of the housing 42 as shown. Also journaled in the bearing in housing 42 is an idler shaft 72 which projects outwardly from the front of housing 42 and directly below shaft 72.

The several bearings for the shafts are not shown, since the provision of such is well-known in the art, and they can take several forms.

Transmission means are mounted on the above-described shafts as follows: fastened on the end of shaft 48 is a V-pulley 78; on the shaft 54 of the motor 52 is fastened a double V-pulley 80; on the end of shaft 58 is fastened a V-pulley 82; at the end of Shaft 72 is fastened a sprocket 84; and fastened on the end of shaft 76 is an idler sprocket 86. A V-belt is trained on pulley 78 and one section of the pulley 80, so that the drive motor 52 will rotate the driving shaft 48 of the sewing head 46. V-belt is trained on the other section of pulley 80 and pulley 82 so that motor 52 will drive shaft 58 and thus drive the worm gear 62, pinion 64, mitre gears 68 and 70, and sprocket 84.

Mounted on a bracket 92, which is dependent from the framework at the end of the lmachine opposite to motor 12, is a take-up idler comprising a triangular-shaped bell-crank 94 pivoted at its knuckle, as shown, to the bracket 92 by a stud 100. The top corner is rotatably pinned to an eye-bolt 96, the latter passing through a hole in the said framework and being secured adjustably by means of the clamp nuts 98. On the end of the Stud is rotatably mounted the idler sprocket 102. A stud 104 is mounted at the lower corner of the crank 94, and rotatably mounted on stud 104 is the idler sprocket 106.

Fastened to the output shaft 108 of motor 12 is a sprocket 110, and trained on the sprockets 108, 86, 84, 102, and 106 is the endless sprocket chain 112, the chain passing over the top of sprocket 84. Chain 112 is tightened to a proper tension by means of the idler take-up assembly of crank 94 and its associated idlers. If desired, a V-belt may be substituted for chain 112 and V-pulleys for sprockets 168, 86, 84, 102 and 106. Most satisfactory performance will be had, however, if a sprocket chain is used.

An idler take-up mechanism indicated generally by numeral 147 (and not further described herein because of is conventional well-known construction) may be attached to carriage 42 for maintaining the proper tension in vbelt 88.

With the apparatus thus described and assuming that the sewing head is positioned at the right-hand side of the machine and a sewing operation is about to take place on material already pinned in position, as shown in FIG. 2, the trailing end 154 of the rst roll lbeing shown as pinned on top of the leading end 156 of the second roll 158, when motor 52 is operated, it rotates the sprocket 84 in a clockwise direction (as viewed in FIG. 1) so that sprocket 84 will crawl along the top length of sprocket chain 112 from right to left to move the carriage from right to left for a sewing operation. Since motor 12 is not being operated, sprocket is stationary, and thus chain 112 is stationary. When the carriage 42 reaches the left side of the bridge 6, it is stopped by switch 36 (as will be explained below), sewing having been completed. When motor 52 is stopped, this locks the carriage to the chain, and if motor 12 is now operated to rotate sprocket 110 clockwise, this will pull the chain around to move the carriage back to its original position.

After the sewing is completed, it will be noted that the sewn material may be pulled directly off the pins, due to the fact that with the throat of the sewing machine facing the scray, there is no mechanism such as rollers, etc. being in the way. The straight line pull is indicated by the dotted lines 160 and 162, line 160 indicating the cloth before roll 158 is moved into the cradle of the scray, and line 162 being the cloth after such transfer of the position. When roll 158 is moved into the cradle as indicated by dotted lines 164, the next roll is placed on the cradle edge and its leading end pinned to the pin boards while cloth from the roll in the cradle is running through the scra Siilitable electrical connections are provided to obtain the above operations, and are shown in FIG. 4. Switches 36 and 38 are single-pole single-throw push button switches, with the contacts normally closed but `actuatable by plungers into open position in conventional manner. Power is fed, by means of lead 114, to one side of the windings of each of motors 12 and 52. The other side of the winding of 52 is connected by lead 116 to contact 118 of switch 36, and contact 120 of the same switch 1s connected by lead 122 to one stationary contact 124 of-a smgle-pole double-throw switch 126. The other stationary contact 128 of switch 126 is connected by lead 130 to contact 132 of switch 38. The other contact 134 of the latter is connected by lead 136 to the other side of the winding of motor 12. The movable -contact 138 of switch 126 is connected to the other side of the line by lead 140.

Also mounted at the lower end of the carriage are a pair of laterally extending arms 144 and 146.. These arms are so positioned that when the carriage 1s 1n each of its extreme positions, they will engage and actuate the respective push buttons of switches 36 and 38.

With this construction, and assuming that the sewmg machine is in the right hand position as rst described in the operation set forth above, the arm 146 is depressing the push button of switch 38 and thus contacts 132 and 134 are open and motor 12 is disconnected from the line. On the other hand, switch 136 has its contacts 118-120 closed. If, now, the movable contact 138 of switch 126 is moved to connect the line to contact 124, power is connected through lead 122, the contacts 118-120, and lead 116 to one side of motor 52. The other side of motor 52 is connected by lead 114 to the other side of the line. Motor 52 will now operate, for a sewing operation, and as it does it moves the carriage along the chain 112 from right to left as described above. This motion continues until the carriage reaches the point where the lever 144 depresses the plunger of switch 36 to open the latters contacts. This stops motor 52, and as pointed out above, has the effect of locking the carriage to the chain 112.

If now, contact 138 of switch 126 is moved to engage contact 128, power will flow by lead 130, contacts 132 and 134 (these contacts having closed when arm 146 is moved away by the motion of the carriage) and lead 136 to one side of the winding of motor 12. The other side of motor 12 is connected `by lead 1.14 to the other side of the line. Motor 12 will now operate to move the carriage from left to right back to its original position, at which point the lever 146 opens the contacts 132-134 to stop motor 12.

It has been indicated above that among the peculiar advantages of this machine are the savings of time in pin up. This savings in time is important, and the bar chart given in FIG. 5 illustrates the amount of savings that has been experienced, using 100 yard rolls unwinding at a rate of 600 yards per minute. The times in seconds are shown for the several typical operations listed at the left. With the machine of this invention, a total time of 26 seconds is occupied for the seven items that mecd to be done. As an example of how this total time of 26 seconds is made up, and starting with the first (loom) roll in condition to expose its trailing end, it requires approximately ve seconds to pin the trailing end of the first roll. Then a time of approximately three seconds to prepare the sewing machine, a time of approximately seven seconds -for sewing, a time of approximately one second Ifor release from the pins, and a final time of approximately ten seconds to run the cloth into the scray. The remaining items, namely, to pin up the lead end of the next roll of cloth and to place the loom roll on the scray cradle edge occupy approximately five seconds for the former, and approximately ve seconds for the latter. However, it is to be noticed that these operations occur while the cloth is running into the scray. In prior machines, the operations of pinning the lead end of the second roll cannot be performed until the loom roll, which is already running in the scray, has exposed its trailing end. Therefore, after starting the cloth into the scray from an already sewn stage, the operator must wait until the loom roll has unwound to the extent that the trailing end is exposed. Therefore, the total time involved for prior machines will be about 31 seconds instead of the 26 seconds of the instant invention. Thus, there is a time savings of approximately 16 percent by the use of the present machine in the example given. That this time is an important factor in the commercial production of cloth is shown by FIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 6, there is presented a graph showing the shift production (in yards) for various loom roll lengths (also in yards) for three sewing machines and using a 60 inch wide goods with a draft roll that winds 450 yards per minute. Curves 148 and 150 show the production rate .10 of two machines presently on the market, and 152 shows the production rate with the machine of this invention. The increased shift production is illustrated clearly, and by comparing, for example, the production rates for a loom roll length of 200 yards, the following appears: With the machine whose curve is given as 148, the shift production is approximately 56,500 yards. For this same abscissa, the shift production of machine 150 is approx-imately 83,500 yards. On the other hand, for the machine of this invention as illustrated by curve 152, the shift production is approximately 100,000 yards. The increase in shift production is equal to approximately 20%.

In view of the above it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantages results attained.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

As many changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the in- =vent1on, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying draw- 1ngs, shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a hunting sense, and it is also intended that the appended claims shall cover all such equivalent variations as come within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A combined sewing machine and scray comprising:

means adjacent the scray defining an area in which the machine is to operate;

a bridge spanning said area;

trolley means for traversing the bridge;

lan elongated carriage dependent from the trolley means and movable therewith, the carriage having an upper portion and a lower portion;

a sewing head supported by the carriage on the lower portion thereof, the overhanging needle arm and throat of the sewing head facing the scray;

a first motor mounted on the carriage and adapted to operate the sewing head;

propelling means for causing the trolley means to traverse the Ibridge, thereby moving said carriage, motor, 4and sewing head from one side of said area to the other;

and holding means for positioning 'below the sewing head first and second rolls of fabric, of which the trailing end of the first roll is to be sewn to the leading end of the second roll, the axes of the rolls being parallel to the direction of motion of said carriage, and said holding means and said sewing head being in such positioned relationship one to the other and to the scray as to provide between the holding means, the sewing head, and the scray, unobstructed passageways to the sewing head for Vboth said leading end and said trailing ends.

2. The combined sewing machine and scray of claim 1 in which said first motor is mounted on the said upper portion, and is operatively connected by drive means to the sewing head.

3. The combined sewing machine and scray of claim 1 in which said first motor drives an output shaft, an endless belt movably mounted below said bridge, said first motor 'being operatively linked to the Ibelt whereby motion in a `first direction is imparted to the carriage when said first motor operates, and means locking the carriage to said bel-t when said first motor is not operating.

4. The combined sewing machine and scray of claim 3 including a second motor mounted at one side of said area, said second motor being operatively connected by said endless -belt to the carriage for moving the latter along the bridge in a direction opposite to lthe direction imparted to the carriage by said first motor.

5. The combined sewing machine and scray of claim 1 in which said first motor is mounted on the upper portion of the carriage and drives an output shaft, an endless belt movably mounted below said bridge and parallel to the direction of motion of the carriage, first transmission means on said output shaft operatively coupling the carriage to the belt to impart motion to the carriage in a first direction when said first motor is operating and to lock the carriage to the belt when the first motor is not operating, second transmission means mounted on said output shaft and operatively connecting said shaft to the sewing head to operate the latter, and a second motor mounted at one side of said area for moving said belt to impart a motion to the carriage in a direction opposite to said first direction.

i6. A sewing machine for sewing together the ends of two pieces of cloth comprising:

an open framework, the latter having side members and a top member bridging the side members and constituting a track;

an elongated vertically-oriented carriage having upper and lower portions, the carriage being dependent from the track, and being movably supported on `the latter for traversing the space between the side members, in a direction perpendicular to the length of said carriage, said lower portion being positioned completely below the track;

a sewing head having an overhanging needle arm and a bed mounted on said lower portion and thus below said track, the overhanging arm and bed projecting outwardly from the carriage and in a direction perpendicular to the direction of motion of the carriage on the track, the sewing head constituting the lowest operative sewing mechanism mounted on said lower portion, thereby to provide an unobstructed space below said bed and between said side members adapted to receive a supply roll of cloth whose leading edge has direct passage to said bed;

a first motor mounted on said upper portion and adapted to drive said sewing head, said first motor moving with the carriage;

a stationary second motor mounted on one of said side members and being operatively connected lto an endless belt, the belt being supported below the track parallel to the direction of motion of the carriage, and being connected to the carriage to move the latter on said track under the inuence of said second motor; and

means mounted on said upper portion for operatively coupling the first motor to the endless belt and adapted to move the carriage along the track in a direction opposite to the direction of motion impar-ted by the second motor, and for locking the carriage to the belt when the first motor is not operating.

7. The sewing machine of claim 6 in which the means for operatively coupling the first motor to the endless belt is a worm yand pinion, the Worm of which is operatively connected to the first motor, and the pinion of which drives a wheel, the latter engaging said endless belt, whereby, when the motor is n-ot operated, the carriage is locked to the belt.

8. The sewing machine of claim 6 including adjustable means at each side of the framework for -holding the corner portions of said ends in overlapping relationship, thereby to position said ends between the overhanging arm and bed of the sewing head and approximately parallel to the direction of motion of the carriage.

9. The sewing machine of claim 6 including first and second switching means at the sides of said framework, the first switching means automatically stopping the first motor when :the carriage has moved to one side of the framework, and the second switching means automatically stopping the second motor when the carriage has moved to the other side of the framework.

l0. The sewing machine of claim 9 including a twoposition switching means whereby when lthe latter is in one of its positions the first motor is connected to a source of electrical power through the first switching means, and when the two-position switching means is in its other position, the second motor is connected to a source of electrical power through the second switching means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,009,428 11/1961 Coolidge 112--2 3,062,160 11/1962 Cash et al 112-3 3,073,267 1/ 1963 Reeber et al. 3,167,041 1/1965 Briggs 112-2 2,163,304 6/ 1939 Corrall et al 112--2 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

J. R. BOLER, Assistant Examiner.

'f vEdward M. Fletcher, Jr.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE 0F CORRECTION Patent No. 3,396,686 August 13, 1968 Ralph L. Davidson et al It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 2, line 70, after "which" insert sewing Signed and sealed this 17th day of February 1970.

(SEAL) ,Attestz Att'esting Officer Commissioner of Patents WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR. 

